Too Much on Our Plait

One week of chemo and radiation down. Four more to go. Jason is doing well, but starting to feel the side effects a little. He's tired earlier in the day, and has some tingling/itching on his scalp, but that could be from the nerves resetting from surgery. We will be creating our wills. What a thing to think about.  I know it is something we need to think about, and something we probably should have done a long time ago, but with what's happening... ugh. I don't like it at all. It feels like we're speaking it into existence. I know that's not it, but it's the feeling, you know? I just hope that it becomes where you take all the precautions and it doesn't happen. That'd be lovely -- to not have to consider any of this until maybe 30-40 years from now. My parents have been amazing. They have been taking over transporting Jason to and from treatments each day so I can go to work. It's been a huge relief, but part of me feels like I should be doing all o...

It's nearly 3AM and I've got so much running through my head that I needed to do something with it. This is getting very real. Jason starts treatment in four hours. At 5:40AM, he needs to take his Zofran. At 6:10AM, he needs to take his oral Temozolomide, which is his chemotherapy. At 6:15AM, we need to be on the road to the treatment center where he will receive his first radiation treatment. From there, we will receive an official schedule for the times for his treatments each day. He will receive two radiation treatments per day for 25 days. The doctors recommended two smaller treatments per day versus one big treatment per day to lessen the possibility of long-term effects. Okie doke. Whatever helps my husband get through this. There's a lot to think about these days along with treatment logistics. 1. FMLA paperwork and preparing my classroom and students for my absence. 2. Finances, since Jason will not be working during treatment. 3. Setting up our wills...just in cas...

I thought I'd never have to come back here. It's been over 10 years since I wrote on this blog, and I had honestly forgotten about it. My mother, Adelina, told me I should resurrect it, since there is now something else to talk about. First, some background. I don't think I mentioned my husband before, or if I did, I didn't say much.  I met Jason at the OMG! Cancer Summit (now called CancerCon) through the organization Stupid Cancer in April of 2011. He was diagnosed with medulloblastoma at 6 years old in 1995 as a result of water contamination in New Jersey. He had suffered a stroke, which led doctors to finding the tumor. After an excruciating and long treatment of radiation and chemo, he went into remission. It was not without its problems, though. Jason had to have a spinal fusion in his teen years, and has been hard of hearing since treatment. Otherwise, he is an extraordinary person. He is bright, funny, and my perfect type of nerd.  I was not interested in being ...

Honestly, I don't even know what to say.  As you probably read in my mother's post from yesterday, my uncle Richard passed away yesterday morning from complications post-treatment for AML.  My mother said pretty much everything there was to say, but I think there's a little more. Uncle Richard, I have one more story for you. Uncle Richard was a funny man. He was downright weird at times, but the best kind of weird there is. He was never seen without a smile. Uncle Richard had this way about him - even in his lovely tennis shorts in December (mind you, we're in Baltimore) - to brighten the room around him.  I'll never forget the smell of his pipe (I hate smoking, but his pipe always smelled so good), the smile on his face, and the songs he used to sing, again in those tennis shorts. He would just break out into song. When us cousins were kids, we were always captivated by his humor. The one song that immediately comes to mind is, "The Littlest Worm....

Cancer has struck  our family again…in a big way.   One week after the burial of my mother on February 23, 2016 for non-cancer related issues, my brother-in-law, Richard, was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia).   Since March 6 th , he had been an inpatient at University of Maryland Hospital.   As our family typically does, we all came together to support my sister, Anna Marie.   We made daily trips to the hospital.   Most of the time we were full of hope, but eventually we felt more like wounded soldiers marching into a losing battle.   Richard suffered one unfortunate circumstance after another with both happy and sad outcomes.   The happy outcome is that the first round of chemo was successful in eradicating his leukemia cells.   The sad news is that all too often the same drugs that cure you can also, indirectly, kill you.   As a result of Richard’s extremely depleted blood cells and extremely compromised immune system f...

Today's post comes after a lot of thinking. I haven't gotten my blood work results back, but I have a completely different issue to talk about. All my life, I have struggled with my weight. I think it started when I was about 10. I was always overweight from that point on, and it was hard for me. It was the typical story - I saw other girls I wanted to look like, and tried so hard to look like them. I had a very different body type, and that was another setback. I have done countless programs - Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, my own diet plans - and yet I always ended up gaining it back if I strayed. They worked, don't get me wrong. It was just very hard to maintain. From about late 2010 to mid-2011, I was following my own plan. I was monitoring my calories, eating well, exercising almost daily, and making sure I was constantly moving. My job at the time was not as demanding as the one I have now, but I worked hard despite feeling tired after a long day. I felt so much be...